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Vicia sativa
Also called Common Vetch, Narrowleaf Vetch, Infield Narrow Leaf Vetch, Spring Vetch, Tare, Vetch, Kurehernes
Vicia sativa, common vetch, is a sprawling, climbing annual legume that fixes nitrogen and is grown as fodder, green manure or a rotation crop. It is mainly grown from seed in spring and tolerates dry, poor soils.
Vicia sativa, known as the common vetch, garden vetch, tare or simply vetch, is a nitrogen-fixing leguminous plant in the family Fabaceae. It is now naturalised throughout the world, being absent only in Antarctica and the Arctic regions. The centre of diversity is thought to be the Fertile Crescent, although gold standard molecular confirmation is currently not available.
Global common vetch cultivation is limited due to anti-nutritional compounds in the seed although it is grown in dryland agricultural zones in Australia, China and Ethiopia due to its drought tolerance and very low nutrient requirements compared to other legumes. In these agricultural zones common vetch is grown as a green manure, livestock fodder or rotation crop.
Sown for fodder, the seed is sown densely, up to 250 kilograms per hectare (220 lb/acre). However, when grown for seed, less seed is used so that the crop is not too thick, which reduces flower and seed production. When meant for seed, sowing is done early in the planting season for good returns; but, when for green manure, any time in spring is suitable. Sometimes, a full crop can be obtained even when sown as late as summer, though sowing so late is not recommended.
After the seed is sown and the land carefully harrowed, a light roller ought to be drawn across, to smooth the surface and permit the scythe to work without interruption. Also, the field should be watched for several days to prevent pigeons from eating too much of the sown seed.
Lentil · American vetch · Vicia anatolica · Reddish tufted vetch · Bird vetch · Blister vetch · Broad Bean · Grass Like Vetch · Tiny vetch · Dwarf Lentil · Purple broad vetch · Eastern Wild Lentil
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vicia sativa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
